Trump's rise hurts Rubio, Carson, but helps Jeb Bush
Donald Trump’s explosive rise in the polls has come at the expense of every other GOP presidential candidate except for Jeb Bush and Scott Walker — who arguably have been helped by the businessman’s rise.
The media storm surrounding Trump is starving other candidates of oxygen — including major contenders such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has seen his polling numbers plummet 3.2 percentage points since Trump’s entry.
Bush, in contrast, has seen his support rise by 2.9 percentage points, while Walker gained 1.1 percentage points. Trump has risen by 14.6 percentage points since launching his campaign.
“Jeb and Walker are in the first tier and they are not going anywhere,” said GOP strategist Matt Mackowiak. “The problem is for those who are in the third tier trying to get into the second, or the second trying to get into the first.”
Mackowiak added that the sheer volume of attention being commanded by Trump has forced other contenders into using novel tactics or extreme rhetoric to garner media coverage.
He cited the examples of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) releasing a video of himself destroying his cellphone after Trump had given out his phone number at a public event, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) using a chainsaw and a woodchipper to destroy the tax code and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee alleging that President Obama was marching Israelis “to the door of the oven” through his deal with Iran on its nuclear program.
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http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/249573-the-trump-effect
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